Peking to Paris

In the two days leading up to the start of this exciting adventure, there will be lots to do. Cars need to be collected and crews will be taken to the police station to obtain their Chinese driving licences. On top of this there will be shopping to do, scrutineering, documentation and a welcome dinner. It will be a busy time. You will also get chance to meet the team and share the company other crews in the luxury of our Beijing hotel.

Excitement mounts on car collection day, when teams are re-united with the cars that they so carefully packed at least two months earlier. Driving your car for the first time, the route from the warehouse will take you to the nearest fuel station and then allow a check of tripmeter calibration, before heading to the hotel. Scrutineering of all the cars will be done by our team of mechanics, and will completed by the following afternoon with enough time for dinner and an early night.

We leave early from Beijing to miss the heavy traffic, and the journey to the start at the Great Wall will take just over an hour. At 08:00 hrs the flag will drop and the first car will begin its journey to Paris. The sound and spectacle of the dragon dancers amongst the cars at the Great Wall is something that your friends and family will remember forever.

After clearing the city and the busy highway, the competition is straightforward, with two regularities in the hills, and then a thrilling drive on a mountainous gravel road towards our overnight halt in Datong. Once called the “Capital of Coal”, Datong has been one of the largest coal producing cities in China, but is now diversifying into solar farms and renewable energy. It has seen a huge growth in its wealth since we first took P2P there in 2007, which you will see reflected in our fabulous hotel.

The following day, we leave the hills behind us and travel across the flatlands where the route takes us via some dry river beds and we tackle two regularities. The day finishes with a blast around Inner Mongolia’s excellent international race circuit at Ordos. The map of the circuit resembles a horse’s head – a nod to the area’s history as the birthplace of Genghis Khan.

Day 4 starts with a run-out that takes us through numerous small villages and farming communities, where you begin to appreciate that the figure of 40% of the Chinese population employed in farming, is no exaggeration. We cross the Yellow River (yes, it really is yellow!), on one of the remaining pontoon bridges, before heading towards our first overnight camp on the edge of the Gobi desert. It takes an army of 100 people and 15 vehicles, including 3 articulated trailers and tens of tonnes of equipment, to provide camping services for our band of up to 200 people.

The following morning, after waking up under the stars for the first time, we head west, tracing a route which loosely follows the G7 Expressway, to our first STC section on a small corner of the Ulan Buh desert, the third largest in China. Much of the area is dunes which are impossible to drive on, but our route takes on a twisty desert road towards the Time Control at Olji just in time for an early lunch. The afternoon’s regularity threads its way across the desert using a mixture of gravel tracks, some of which are sandy and will surely test your sand driving skills.

Day 6 is a big day as we cover over 600km, leaving Inner Mongolia and entering the Gansu Province. Some highway is used to eat up the kilometers, but we find time to tackle a couple of regularities in the morning and a challenging STC section later, in the hills before Jiuquan.

Almost immediately after leaving our hotel in Jiuquan, we start the highest climb of the rally, over 3400 metres in less than 70 km. If the sky is clear, the views are breathtaking and no doubt you will have lots to talk about at the lunch time Time Control, nestled in the valley alongside the Changma River. As we make our way to the first of 4 well-earned rest days in Dunhuang, the afternoon starts with a long regularity, again surrounded by beautiful views and a big sky.

The following morning, our mechanics will be on-hand to help you with any car issues and there are garages and workshops in the nearby city for more complex jobs. Dunhuang, once an important city on the Silk Road, is now known for its Mogoa Caves carved into cliffs nearby. You will hopefully find time for some local sightseeing before enjoying a barbeque under the stars, against the backdrop of huge dunes that the area is famous for.

To ease you back in gently after a day off from driving, the route on Day 9 is around 400km of relatively flat terrain using mainly gravel roads. Competition for the day will take the form of two sporting sections, with the night’s accommodation being a campsite in the middle of the Gobi.

Day 10 is a transit day, with no competition and just a couple of Time Controls to keep everyone in check. In the afternoon you will drive The Great Sea Road. This was an important part of the Silk Road and was first used during the Han dynasty. The exact route of some parts of the original road has been lost in history, but the section you will drive is now a national park with some very rare geographical features. When we originally carried out the route recce in China, a campsite was planned near the exit of the national park, however, a new hotel has now been built and this is where we will spend the night.

Suitably refreshed the following morning, you will drive out of the national park, and using mostly gravel roads, head west taking in two regularities. After stopping for lunch in Sanshan we use the highway to complete the relatively long run to Urumqi. Located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang province and is a major industrial centre. It is the most remote city in the world from any ocean, has a mainly dry climate with very distinct seasons featuring hot summers and cold winters. Our campsite at the end of day 12 nestles against the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains overlooking the valley of the Hutubi river.

We leave the campsite early the next morning to make sure that everyone has a chance of making it to the border at Khorgos. Following a mountain regularity, we jump on the G7 Highway for the last time to complete the journey through China. Completed in 2017, the G7 finally linked Beijing with the border to Kazakhstan. Our route will enable you to experience civil engineering at its best, as the highway makes its way from Sayram Lake at 2000 metres, to sea level in a little over 20 minutes.

Hopefully you will quickly adapt to the 3 hour time difference between China and Kazakhstan on Day 14 as we head towards a regularity and a lunch break at Charyn Canyon. After this there is a gentle drive into Almaty for the second of our non-driving rest days. The centrally located hotel has plenty of space to work on your cars and many garages and workshops can be found nearby. For those who have nothing to do on the car, Almaty has a European type climate and has plenty to offer the tourist. Founded by the Russians in 1854, it became the capital until 2017, but it still remains the largest city in the country.

After a couple of nights in the city to recharge your batteries, Day 16 begins with a 1.9km circuit test at the Sokol Circuit complex. A sandy regularity starts just up the road, and then leads us almost immediately into desert time control section. It’s a very long day so there will be sections of good highway to enable us to reach Shymkent at a reasonable hour. Situated near the border with Kyrgyzstan, Shymkent was once a key stop-off point on the ancient Silk Road and is now a bustling trade centre with lively bazaars and a thriving economy.

The following day, we continue to travel north-west to Kyzylorda, the last major city you will see for 3 days. After this, the route passes through the small city of Aralsk. This will be your last chance to stock up on survival foods for the remote desert days ahead. Historically, Aralsk was a significant fishing port on the banks of the Aral Sea, serving as a major supplier of fish to the surrounding regions. However, the Aral Sea has significantly shrunk since the 1960s due to Soviet irrigation projects, leaving Aralsk landlocked and impacting its economy. Sadly the rusting ships that stood for years in what was once the port, have now mostly been scrapped.

The following two nights will be under canvas in the very hot Aral Karakum Desert. This desert has emerged on the former seabed of the Aral Sea and is one of the youngest deserts in the world. It is characterized by its sandy terrain and harsh climate. Fuel will be difficult to find in some areas, so a campsite fuel tanker will be used to keep the event running. The competition will be kept alive with some challenging time control sections during the three days spent in the desert.

After enjoying a night in a hotel on the shores of the Caspian Sea, crews will drive to the port to load their cars onto one of the most modern freighters on the Caspian. A bus will then take them to the airport for the short flight to Baku. While the cars make their way across the sea, crews will be able to enjoy Baku without the stress of having to work on their cars.

Known not only for hosting the Baku, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the city has a striking blend of ancient and modern architecture, it's skyline features the iconic Flame Towers and historic structures like the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. After arrival, the cars will be displayed in a square flanked on one side by the F1 pitlane and on the other by the famous Baku Boulevard.

After a ceremonial restart from Baku we will head into the desert once more, starting with a 40km time control section in the hills surrounded by small mud volcanoes. These mud volcanoes are formed by tectonic movements that cause underground gases to reach the surface, sometimes igniting and burning perpetually.

After lunch, its back into the desert for a sandy section on an ancient lake, and then on to our overnight in the local tourist destination of Qakh.

The next morning, day 25, another border day, this time to Georgia. Known for its spectacular scenery, good wine and friendly people. We will spend just one night here in the capital city of Tbilisi. Competition will be fierce with a hillclimb, a rallycross circuit and a gravel test to mix up the leaderboard.

Renowned for its rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning landscapes, Turkiye straddles Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The country has a diverse array of scenery, experiences and cuisine to offer travellers. We will stay in Erzurum, Sivas, Ankara and Istanbul, as the route makes its way across the country. The mountainous terrain yields many opportunities for regularities and time control sections on both asphalt and gravel roads, while on Day 29 we visit the excellent race circuit at Korfez for a rallycross style test.

After an early breakfast on day 30, a highway route will save time and take us to the border with Bulgaria at Kapikule. After this, crews will experience two Rally Bulgaria stages in the form of regularity sections in the mountains, before descending to the city of Sofia for a well earned day off. We will spend two nights there, and crews can either work on their cars or explore the city's historic sites and learn about its rich history.

The following morning, two regularities in the hills just south of the border with Romania, complete the competition in Bulgaria.

The transit into and out of Romania will be straightforward now that Bulgaria and Romania are part of the Schengen Area Agreement. The border will be crossed around midday, leaving the rest of the day to travel across the country to Timisoara. Often referred to as "Little Vienna" due to its architectural resemblance to the Austrian capital, it is the largest city in western Romania.

Leaving our city centre hotel the next day, we head north to tackle a challenging gravel regularity in the flatlands around Lipova.

The end of day 33 culminates in some hot competition in the form of another gravel regularity just north of Lake Balaton, before the overnight halt in Keszthely.

Keszthely is a charming city located on the western shore of Lake Balaton in Hungary. Known as the "capital of Lake Balaton," it has a beautiful built heritage, including the impressive Festetics Palace. It’s a popular holiday destination and is famous for its thermal resorts and spa services.

Into the mountains of Austria and the competition steps up a gear with two back to back regularities that will keep both crew members busy. Following a lunchtime time control at Semriach, crews can enjoy the scenery and the roads as we wind our way to Salzburg in the west of the country.

Salzburg is a city renowned for its baroque architecture and rich cultural history. It's the birthplace of Mozart and is home to the annual Salzburg Festival, one of the world's premier music festivals. The city’s old town is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Leaving Salzburg, a short run through Germany takes us back into Austria to the first competition of the day, which will be held at a circuit in the shadow of the Steinerne Meer mountain range. In the afternoon, as we travel into Switzerland, there is a slight change of character for the two regularities we have planned and this will surely put crews through their paces.

Switzerland, famous for its stunning landscapes, serene lakes, and lush forests. It's bordered by five countries and is renowned for its high quality of life, neutrality in global conflicts, and its diverse culture. Our route takes us to Egerkingen at the foot of the Jura mountains. Its proximity to France makes it an idea location for our overnight stay. Only two more days to go!

Day 36, the final day of competition, crosses the Jura mountains and contains three monster regularities which could potentially add a bit of a twist to the results. Following a lunchtime time control near the end of the final regularity, its an easy drive to an early finish in Dijon for party night. It’s a tradition on P2P that crews get together to say goodbye to all the friends they have made during the adventure.

The final day contains no competition and is predominantly a highway drive. This will be welcomed by most, especially those nursing a broken car. Our route takes us to a holding control on the outskirts of Paris, from where we will get a police escort through the Paris traffic to the finish arch in Place Vendome. For many, this carefully engineered convoy, managed by police motorcyclists, was a highlight of the rally in 2024.

No doubt, friends and family will travel from across the world to wave crews across the line and congratulate them on completion of this epic adventure.